[Dorse1988]

Good afternoon,

I'm looking at carrying out a service next week for oil, air filter, cabin filter and fuel filter, rear pads and discs.

I'm fine with everything apart from the fuel filter, I've never changed one before.

What is the correct procedure when starting the car for the first time after changing the fuel filter, do you have to bleed the fuel system?

The physical change over of the filter I'll be fine with, I just don't want to mess anything up afterwards.

Bit of background on the car it's on 171,000 miles and running well, remapped to 320 bhp according to the paperwork I've got with the car. Doing around 400 miles a week and I've had it for the last 22,000 miles. Hoping to keep it going to at least 200,000.

Also I've been quoted £198 for an oil change, and fuel filter, is this a good price? It would just take any hassle away. Leaving me to do just the basic filters/discs and pads.

Thanks for any help,

Darren.

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Dorse1988

Good afternoon,

I'm looking at carrying out a service next week for oil, air filter, cabin filter and fuel filter, rear pads and discs.

I'm fine with everything apart from the fuel filter, I've never changed one before.

What is the correct procedure when starting the car for the first time after changing the fuel filter, do you have to bleed the fuel system?

The physical change over of the filter I'll be fine with, I just don't want to mess anything up afterwards.

Bit of background on the car it's on 171,000 miles and running well, remapped to 320 bhp according to the paperwork I've got with the car. Doing around 400 miles a week and I've had it for the last 22,000 miles. Hoping to keep it going to at least 200,000.

Also I've been quoted £198 for an oil change, and fuel filter, is this a good price? It would just take any hassle away. Leaving me to do just the basic filters/discs and pads.

Thanks for any help,

Darren.

How To here for fuel filter:

£198 is probably about right with what maybe an hour, 90mins labour inclusive

But oil and filter isn't much if you DIY (you've a dipstick so you could do it that way; but you need to be under the car for the fuel filter etc)

Mahle/Mann for filters unless you want OEM BMW and then whichever 5W30 or 5W40 (might be better for your mileage) oil of your choice (6.5l IIRC)

[ms84]

Isn't OEM made by Mahle anyway? After changing the fuel filter you need to bleed it. Some people just turn the ignition on and off or some similar magic but I use ISTA as there is a dedicated option to bleed the system after a filter change. If don't have ISTA then you should get it as it will always be handy in the future. Plenty of info about how to get it on BMW forums. If you can do discs and pads then oil change should be a piece of cake for you - no point paying for it.

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by ms84

Isn't OEM made by Mahle anyway? After changing the fuel filter you need to bleed it. Some people just turn the ignition on and off or some similar magic but I use ISTA as there is a dedicated option to bleed the system after a filter change. If don't have ISTA then you should get it as it will always be handy in the future. Plenty of info about how to get it on BMW forums. If you can do discs and pads then oil change should be a piece of cake for you - no point paying for it.

Oil or fuel filter?

If oil then some are Mahle; some Hengst and some Mann

Fuel filter yes; I think they're Mahle usually

[ms84]

Originally Posted by danb1979

Oil or fuel filter?

If oil then some are Mahle; some Hengst and some Mann

Fuel filter yes; I think they're Mahle usually

Yeah, I meant fuel filter

[Allworth]

All jobs you listed are perfect DIY.
Few tips for fuel filter: explore well how green clip works before attempting to disengage it (easy to brake, hard to replace) apart from this, is really straightforward. I've done mine without ISTA, if memory serves me well I had cranked for about 5 seconds before engine kicked in, as there is still fuel in the pump to initiate the start. If you happen to need priming fuel by cranking just make pauses for a minute after every 10 seconds of cranking, to avoid battery, wiring, and starter motor overheating.
As danb1979 suggested thicker oil should be better for your engine due to mileage.
I reckon premium oil and filter cost alone should be under £70.

[Dorse1988]

Thank you for the responses and advice everyone, I think I'll go ahead and order the parts and get it done over the weekend.

I was looking in to the oil extraction method for an easier job, but if changing the fuel filter I'll have the car up anyway so I'm guessing it's best to just drain it from under the car?

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Dorse1988

Thank you for the responses and advice everyone, I think I'll go ahead and order the parts and get it done over the weekend.

I was looking in to the oil extraction method for an easier job, but if changing the fuel filter I'll have the car up anyway so I'm guessing it's best to just drain it from under the car?

Yup you're under there so may as well.

But having a decent pela pump and oil container is great for interim oil changes

[Eddamoo]

Its a pretty straight forward job. If you're working on your driveway, make sure you have something to catch the diesel that doesn't impede your access as up to 200ml could probably leak out. Do not re-use that diesel - the smallest contaminant can hurt your pump.

Make sure you have the new filter open, ready and oriented the correct way around. That will allow you to connect it quicker to prevent diesel leakage from the pipes. I think mine took about 5s to crank but dont panic if you need to do it a few times.